What does Panthera onca mean? definition and meaning (Free English Language Dictionary) Hypernyms ("Panthera onca" is a kind of...): big cat ; cat (any of several large cats typically able to roar and living in the wild) Holonyms ("Panthera onca" is a member of...): genus Panthera ; Panthera (lions; leopards; snow leopards; jaguars; tigers; cheetahs; saber-toothed tigers) Learn English with... Proverbs of the week "Common sense ain't common." (English proverb) "Who does not work, is heavy to the earth." (Albanian proverb) "The stingy has a big porch and little morality." (Arabic proverb) "From children and drunks will you hear the truth." (Danish proverb) Related FAQs: Jaguar The jaguar is the largest wild cat in the Western Hemisphere. Although jaguar populations are abundant in some areas, many are threatened by illegal hunting, deforestation and loss of wild prey. State of the Jaguar Jaguars exist in 18 countries in Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina.

Despite this broad range, jaguars have been eradicated from 40 percent of their historic range and are extinct in Uruguay and El Salvador. While the rare individual has been spotted in the US, there has not been evidence of a breeding population in the US in more than 50 years. The jaguar is listed as "Near Threatened" on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, though its status is in review and may be elevated to "Vulnerable" in the next year. The species is threatened by loss and fragmentation of jaguar habitat, conflict with local people due to the real or perceived threat posed to livestock, and overhunting of the jaguar’s prey by local people. Download our Jaguar Fact Sheet to learn more about the jaguar. "The fact that jaguars have been more resilient and, in many ways, more lucky in their survival than other big cats is EXACTLY why we should focus our attention and conservation efforts on them. This could be the world’s greatest success story for large carnivore conservation and show how big predators such as these can indeed live with humans.” - Dr.

Alan Rabinowitz, CEO, Panthera circle Primary Threat Habitat Loss Jaguars have been eradicated from 40% of their historic range. As people develop land for agriculture and other uses, jaguar habitats are lost or fragmented, isolating populations and jeopardizing the genetic integrity of the species. All Threats Threats Facing the Jaguar The jaguar is unique in that it exists as a single species -- with no subspecies -- from Mexico to Argentina; no other large, wide-ranging carnivore in the world maintains this genetic continuity throughout its range. But explosive growth in Latin America threatens to change that. Between 1990 and 2010, for example, Guatemala lost over 25 percent of its natural forest, or 1,213,000 hectares, due to economic developments, including agriculture and resource extraction. While jaguars range across a six million km2 area, their numbers are declining and their movement is increasingly restricted by human encroachment into vital habitats and the jaguar’s genetic corridors. This dramatic habitat loss and fragmentation forces jaguars into closer contact with humans, fueling human-jaguar conflict and contributing to the jaguar’s loss of wild prey.

In human-jaguar conflict, ranchers sometimes kill jaguars in retaliation for livestock predation or because of the perceived threat jaguars pose to their herds and livelihoods. Additionally, the overhunting by humans of the jaguar’s natural prey contributes to population declines and forces jaguars to prey on domestic animals, exacerbating a vicious cycle of conflict. Close Diverse diet including 85 recorded prey species 14 countries Expand Panthera’s jaguar conservation activities to all 18 range states Jaguar Corridor Initiative Panthera’s Jaguar Corridor Initiative is the only conservation program to date which seeks to protect jaguars across their entire six million km2 range. In partnership with governments, corporations and local communities, Panthera’s Jaguar Corridor Initiative is working to preserve the genetic integrity of the jaguar by connecting and protecting core jaguar populations in human landscapes from northern Mexico to northern Argentina. Learn More About the Jaguar Corridor Initiative "Panthera's Jaguar Corridor Initiative ranks with the world's most ambitious conservation programs." National Geographic My name is and I wish to donate to .

Jaguar | National Geographic A jaguar photographed at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Nebraska Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark About the Jaguar Jaguars are the largest of South America's big cats. They once roamed from the southern tip of that continent north to the region surrounding the U.S.-Mexico border. Today significant numbers of jaguars are found only in remote regions of South and Central America—particularly in the Amazon Basin. These beautiful and powerful beasts were prominent in ancient Native American cultures. In some traditions the Jaguar God of the Night was the formidable lord of the underworld. The name jaguar is derived from the Native American word yaguar, which means “he who kills with one leap.” Hunting Unlike many other cats, jaguars do not avoid water; in fact, they are quite good swimmers. Rivers provide prey in the form of fish, turtles, or caimans—small, alligatorlike animals. Jaguars also eat larger animals such as deer, peccaries, capybaras, and tapirs. They sometimes climb trees to prepare an ambush, killing their prey with one powerful bite.

Behavior Most jaguars are tan or orange with distinctive black spots, dubbed "rosettes" because they are shaped like roses. Some jaguars are so dark they appear to be spotless, though their markings can be seen on closer inspection. Jaguars live alone and define territories of many square miles by marking with their waste or clawing trees. Females have litters of one to four cubs, which are blind and helpless at birth. The mother stays with them and defends them fiercely from any animal that may approach—even their own father. Young jaguars learn to hunt by living with their mothers for two years or more. Jaguars are still hunted for their attractive fur. Ranchers also kill them because the cats sometimes prey upon their livestock. WATCH: Jaguar Attacks Crocodile Black Panthers | Big Cat Rescue Big Cat Rescue Since the 1960’s it has been considered politically incorrect to call a black cat a black panther. The big black cats are black leopards or black jaguars and are not referred to as black panthers by anyone who knows anything about big cats.

Some people claim to have seen black cougars, which are sometimes referred to as Florida Panthers (despite the fact that they are not in the Panthera category) and thus extrapolate the term black panther, but Florida Panthers are always tan. Black panther may refer to: Animals Black panther, a big cat (of any species, but most commonly a jaguar or a leopard) whose coloration is entirely black. This may have originated from the Latin name Panthera for the big cats and was probably shortened from Black Panthera to Black Panther. Political movements Black Panther, a member of the Black Panther Party, a revolutionary Black nationalist organization in the United States formed during the 1960s. Black Panther, a member of a group of Israeli Mizrahi Jews inspired by the Black Panther Party in the United States. Media Black Panther, the nickname for the British criminal and murderer Donald Neilson. Black Panther, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe, and a member of The Avengers. Black Panther, an underground newspaper.

Music Black Panther, a well-known Chinese rock band A song by Mason Jennings from his 2000 album Birds Flying Away Military units Black Panther, the symbol for the Filipino Special forces, The Scout Rangers The nickname of the U.S. 761st Tank Battalion, after their unit’s shoulder sleeve insignia. The Black Panther The black panther is the common name for a black specimen (a melanistic variant) of any of several species of cats. Zoologically speaking, the term panther is synonymous with leopard. The genus name Panthera is a taxonomic category that contains all the species of a particular group of felids. In North America, the term panther is commonly used for the puma; in Latin America it is most often used to mean a jaguar. Elsewhere in the world it refers to the leopard (originally individual animals with longer tails were deemed panthers and others were leopards; it is a common misconception that the term panther necessarily refers a melanistic individual). Melanism is most common in jaguars (Panthera onca) – where it is due to a dominant gene mutation – and leopards (Panthera pardus) – where it is due to a recessive gene mutation.

Close examination of one of these black cats will show that the typical markings are still there, and are simply hidden by the surplus of the black pigment melanin. Cats with melanism can co-exist with litter mates that do not have this condition. In cats that hunt mainly at night the condition is not detrimental. White panthers also exist, these being albino or leucistic individuals of the same three species. It is probable that melanism is a favorable evolutionary mutation with a selective advantage under certain conditions for its possessor, since it is more commonly found in regions of dense forest, where light levels are lower. Melanism can also be linked to beneficial mutations in the immune system. Black Jaguar Black Jaguar cubs. In jaguars, the mutation is dominant hence black jaguars can produce both black and spotted cubs, but spotted jaguars only produce spotted cubs when bred together. In leopards, the mutation is recessive and some spotted leopards can produce black cubs (if both parents carry the gene in hidden form) while black leopards always breed true when mated together. In stuffed mounted specimens, black leopards often fade to a rusty color, but black jaguars fade to chocolate brown.

The black jaguar was considered a separate species by indigenous peoples. In Harmsworth Natural History (1910), WH Hudson writes: The jaguar is a beautiful creature, the ground-colour of the fur a rich golden-red tan, abundantly marked with black rings, enclosing one or two small spots within. This is the typical colouring, and it varies little in the temperate regions; in the hot region the Indians recognize three strongly marked varieties, which they regard as distinct species – the one described; the smaller jaguar, less aquatic in his habits and marked with spots, not rings; and, thirdly, the black variety. They scout the notion that their terrible “black tiger” is a mere melanic variation, like the black leopard of the Old World and the wild black rabbit. They regard it as wholly distinct, and affirm that it is larger and much more dangerous than the spotted jaguar; that they recognize it by its cry; that it belongs to the terra firma rather than to the water-side; finally, that black pairs with black, and that the cubs are invariably black.

Nevertheless, naturalists have been obliged to make it specifically one with Felis onca, the familiar spotted jaguar, since, when stripped of its hide, it is found to be anatomically as much like that beast as the black is like the spotted leopard. The gene is incompletely dominant. Individuals with two copies of the gene are darker (the black background colour is more dense) than individuals with just one copy whose background colour may appear to be dark charcoal rather than black. A black jaguar called Diablo has been crossed with a lioness at Bear Creek Sanctuary, Barrie, Canada resulting in a charcoal coloured “black jaglion”. The gene is therefore dominant over normal lion coloration. Black Leopard A melanistic black leopard, or “black panther.” These are the most common form of black panther in captivity and have been selectively bred for decades as exhibits or exotic pets (this inbreeding for the sake of appearance has adversely affected temperament). They are smaller and more lightly built than jaguars. The spotted pattern is still visible on black leopards, especially from certain angles where the effect is that of printed silk. Skin color is a mixture of blue black gray and purple with rosettes.

A black panther (leopard) is able to hunt and kill animals outweighing them by more than 1,350 pounds but this is rare because of competition from tigers and lions. Black leopards are reported from most densely-forested areas in south-western China, Burma, Assam and Nepal; from Travancore and other parts of southern India and are said to be common in Java and the southern part of the Malay Peninsula where they may be more numerous than spotted leopards. They are less common in tropical Africa, but have been reported from Ethiopia (formerly Abyssinia), the forests of Mount Kenya and the Aberdares. One was recorded by Peter Turnbull-Kemp in the equatorial forest of Cameroon. Adult black panthers (leopards) are more temperamental (nervous or vicious) than their spotted counterparts. It is a myth that their mothers often reject them at a young age because of their colour. In actuality, they are more temperamental because they have been inbred (e.g. brother/sister, father/daughter, mother/son matings) to preserve the coloration. The poor temperament has been bred into the strain as a side-effect of inbreeding.

It is this poor temperament that leads to problems of maternal care in captivity as the proximity of humans stresses the mother. According to Funk And Wagnalls’ Wildlife Encyclopedia, black leopards are less fertile than normal leopards having average litters of 1.8, compared to 2.1. This may be due to their high-strung nature. In the early 1980s, Glasgow Zoo, Scotland acquired a 10 year old black leopard from Dublin Zoo, Ireland. She was exhibited for several years before moving to Madrid Zoo, Spain. This leopard had a uniformly black coat profusely sprinkled with white hairs as though draped with spider webs. She was therefore nicknamed the Cobweb Panther. The condition appeared to be vitiligo and as she aged, the white became more extensive. Since then, other Cobweb Panthers have been reported and photographed in zoos. Hear our roars, chuffs, hisses, snarls, calls, and growl sounds HERE Cryptid Status There are no authenticated cases of truly melanistic pumas. Black pumas have been reported in Kentucky, one of which had a paler belly. There have also been reports of glossy black pumas from Kansas and eastern Nebraska.

These are known as the North American Black Panther (NABP). None have ever been photographed or shot in the wild, and none have been bred. There is wide concensus among breeders and biologists that the animal does not exist and is a cryptid. Sightings are current attributed to mistaken species identification by non feline experts, and memetic exaggeration of size. Historical Descriptions In his “Histoire Naturelle” (1749), Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, wrote of the “Black Cougar”: “M.

de la Borde, King’s physician at Cayenne, informs me, that in the [South American] Continent there are three species of rapacious animals; that the first is the jaguar, which is called the tiger; that the second is the couguar [sic], called the red tiger, on account of the uniform redness of his hair; that the jaguar is of the size of a large bull-dog, and weighs about 200 pounds (90 kg); that the couguar is smaller, less dangerous, and not so frequent in the neighborhood of Cayenne as the jaguar; and that both these animals take six years in acquiring their full growth. He adds, that there is a third species in these countries, called the black tiger, of which we have given a figure under the appellation of the black couguar.” “The head,” says M. de la Borde, “is pretty similar to that of the common couguar; but the animal has long black hair, and likewise a long tail, with strong whiskers. He weighs not much above forty pounds.

The female brings forth her young in the hollows of old trees.” This black couguar is most likely a margay or ocelot, which are under forty pounds, live in trees, and do occur in a melanistic phase. Another description of a black cougar was provided by Mr Pennant: “Black tiger, or cat, with the head black, sides, fore part of the legs, and the tail, covered with short and very glossy hairs, of a dusky colour, sometimes spotted with black, but generally plain: Upper lips white: At the corner of the mouth a black spot: Long hairs above each eye, and long whiskers on the upper lip: Lower lip, throat, belly, and the inside of the legs, whitish, or very pale ash-colour: Paws white: Ears pointed: Grows to the size of a heifer of a year old: Has vast strength in its limbs.– Inhabits Brasil and Guiana: Is a cruel and fierce beast; much dreaded by the Indians; but happily is a scarce species;” (Pennant’s Synops. of quad., p 180).

According to his translator Smellie (1781), the description was taken from two black cougars exhibited in London some years previously. Candidate: Jaguarundi In the US, the most likely explanation for black puma sightings is the jaguarundi, a cat very similar genetically to the puma, which grows around 30″ of body and 20″ of tail. Their coat goes through a reddish-brown phase and a dark grey phase. While their acknowledged natural range ends in southern Texas, a small breeding population was introduced to Florida in the 1940’s, and there are rumors of people breeding them as pets there as well. Jaguarundis hunting territory can extend to 100km wide for males, and it’s quite possible that very small populations which rarely venture out of deep forests are responsible for many or most of the sightings. While they are significantly smaller than a puma, differently colored, and much lower to the ground (many note a resemblance to the weasel), a little memory bias combined with their secretive nature could explain many of the sightings in the southeastern US.

Candidate: Jaguar After that, the next most likely are black jaguars, who are believed to have ranged North America in historical memory. Melanistic jaguars aren’t common in nature, and more importantly, jaguars themselves were hunted to near extinction in the ’60’s; However, while they do not look exactly like pumas, but they have the requisite size, and it’s conceivable that there could be, for example, a breeding population hidden in the Louisiana bayou. The jaguar has had several photographically confirmed and many unconfirmed sightings in Arizona, New Mexico, and southwest Texas, but not outside that region. Jaguar Facts | Big Cat Rescue Big Cat Rescue Genus: Pantherinae Panthera Species: onca Misc: The Jaguar and the Leopard are often confused with one another in zoos. Their coloring and markings are so similar that it is difficult for people to distinguish them. The difference lies in the center of the Jaguars rosettes, because unlike the leopard, the Jaguar has spots inside of its rosettes! The Jag is also a much stockier animal than its cousin, with shorter legs and tail – giving it more of a pit bull type appearance.

SAVEJAGS The name Jaguar comes from the ancient Indian name “yaguar” which meant “the killer which overcomes its prey in a single bound.” Size and Appearance: Jags are the largest felines in the Americas. Adult males can reach an overall length of more than 7 feet, and can weigh anywhere from 150 to 200 pounds. As mentioned above, its coat color and markings are very similar to the leopard, with a rich tawny or yellow background with large black rosettes and spots. It has a larger head, more compact body, and much more powerful paws! The Jaguar also occurs with an all black (melanistic) coat, and like the leopard, the spots can still be seen on black individuals. Albino individuals have been reported as well. Habitat: The Jaguar is commonly found in rain forests, savannahs, and swamps, but at the northern end of its territory it may enter scrub country and even deserts. The Jaguar still has a stronghold in the Amazon basin, but has been nearly wiped out of all drier regions. Wherever it is found, it requires fresh water as the Jaguar is an excellent swimmer.

To see Jaguars in the wild, or help them there, check out Distribution: Once found here in the United States (California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Florida), this cat was hunted to extinction here in the late 1940s. Today, it is found in Mexico, but swiftly declining and Central America, and the strongest populations being found in the Mato Grosso, Brazil; The Pantanal, bordering Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay; Chiapas State, Mexico; and the Yucatan Peninsula/northern Guatemala/Belize. Reproduction and Offspring: Jaguars have no defined breeding season and will mate any time of year. After a gestation period of about 100 days, the female will give birth to a litter of 2-4 cubs. Mothers will continue to feed and protect her young until they are about 1 year old, and they will continue to stay with her until they are about 2 years old. They will reach sexual maturity between 2-3 years for females, and 3-4 for males. In captivity, jags lived over 20 years, as compared to 11 – 12 in the wild.

Social System and Communication: The Jaguar is solitary and terrestrial, although it is an adept tree climber. It marks its territory with urine and tree scrapes, in the same fashion as the other great cats. It has a variety of vocalizations, including, roars, grunts, and meows. Hunting and Diet: Jaguars will pursue almost any kind of animal prey within its range, with its favorite being the peccary (a type of wild pig) and the capybara (the worlds largest rodent). Other food items are caiman, tapirs, and fish. Jaguars differ from all the other cats in their method of killing. Once they’ve caught their prey they pierce the skulls with their canines, demonstrating the amazing strength of their powerful jaws. They were once presumed to be nocturnal, but recent studies have shown that they are active during the daytime, with high peaks of activity during dawn and dusk. Jaguars are also more energetic than their larger cousins, and are active for 50-60% of a 24 hour period.

Threats: Deforestation rates are high in Latin America and fragmentation of forest habitat isolates jaguar populations so that they are more vulnerable to the predations of man. People compete with jaguars for prey, and jaguars are frequently shot on sight, despite protective legislation. Jaguars are also known to kill cattle, and are killed by ranchers as pest species. The vulnerability of the jaguar to persecution is demonstrated by its disappearance by the mid-1900’s from the south-western US and northern Mexico. Commercial hunting and trapping of jaguars for their pelts has declined drastically since the mid-1970’s, when anti-fur campaigns and CITES controls progressively shut down international markets. Status: CITES: Appendix I. IUCN: Near Threatened. The jaguar is fully protected at the national level across most of its range, with hunting prohibited in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela, and hunting restrictions in place in Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru. The species also occurs within protected areas in some of its range.

Felid TAG recommendation: Jaguar (Pantherinae Panthera onca). Although perhaps the longest-lived large felid species, the recently approved SSP found the North American population in AZA zoos and most other locations to be aging and virtually untraceable. As this time, only 22 of the 95 U.S. jaguars can be traced back to nature. This population is being managed as an education population because of its relative abundance in many parts of its range. Additional founders are expected to be periodically available for inclusion into the SSP. The target population is 120 individuals. How rare is this cat ? The International Species Information Service lists 292 worldwide, with 95 being in the U.S. What is Big Cat Rescue doing for the Jaguar? We participated in an AZA sanctioned study by being the only facility to provide tracking information via detailed photos and casts of paw prints from our captive South American Pumas so that they could be discerned from jaguar tracks in Costa Rica. This will help researchers determine local populations and their habits so that land can be protected for their future. National Geographic aired a wonderful documentary by Dr. Alan Rabinowitz called, In Search of the Jaguar.

Big Cat Rescue Helps Protect Jaguars in Belize Belize Jaguar Project: In January 2015 an enclosure for two displaced wild jaguars, Lady Hill and Mistletoe, in Belize was sponsored in honor of all of the Big Cat Rescue volunteers, interns, and staff. Since then the team at the Belize Zoo has been working through the rainy season to build the enclosure. The main structure is now complete and includes night houses, swimming pools, and lots of natural habitat for these two jaguars to enjoy. The last step is to roof the enclosure, which they are currently working on. Here are a few photos of the progress. These two jaguars were nuisance cats who came into very close proximity to where people reside. In order to spare their lives they were trapped and taken to the Belize Zoo which is a sanctuary for native wildlife that can not be released back into the wild. Had these two jaguars not been removed, they would have been terminated by the government. Jaguar | Species Facts, Conservation - BigCatsWildCats BigCatsWildCats Contact Us Jaguar The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus and is the one cat of that genus found in the Americas.

On our planet, only the tiger and the lion are cats larger than the jaguar, and in the Western Hemisphere it is the largest. The jaguar can be found in the Southwestern United States and Mexico as well as across most of Central America. Its range continues well into South America as far as Paraguay and northern Argentina. A small number of jaguars have been seen in New Mexico, Arizona (southeast of Tucson) and Texas but other than those few, since the early 20th century the cat is mostly no longer found in the United States. Jaguars have been listed as a Near Threatened species by the IUCN> Scientific Name: Panthera onca [Show slideshow] Species Facts The jaguar has been an American cat since crossing the Bering Land Bridge during the Pleistocene epoch. Once, jaguars roamed over most of North America. Fossils have been found as far north as Missouri dating from the last Ice Age about 25,000 years ago. Constantly pushed southward by a variety of factors, jaguars now can be found only in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas and from Mexico all the way down to Patagonia.

They are rare in the United States and are a federal endangered species. There are only an estimated 15,000 jaguars in the wild in Mexico, Central and South America. Conservation efforts between the United States and Mexico have been successful at protecting a small population of 80 to 120 cats in the remote mountains of Sonora, Mexico bordering Arizona. These cats represent almost the only hope to recover a jaguar population back within the United States. There are two other, smaller populations in Sonora but neither is expected to expand north of the Mexican/US border, even with assistance. Physical Appearance The cat is covered in rosettes for camouflage in the dappled light of its forest habitat. The spots vary over individual coats and between individual jaguars: rosettes may include one or several dots, and the shapes of the dots vary. The spots on the head and neck are generally solid, as are those on the tail, where they may merge to form a band. Physically, with its spotted coat, the jaguar resembles the leopard except that it is larger, stronger and more muscular. Its fur is normally yellow and tan, but the color can vary from reddish brown to black.

A near-black melanin-pigmented form occurs regularly. Jaguars with melanism (dark pigmentation of the fur) appear entirely black, although their spots are still visible on close examination. On all jaguars the spots on the coat are more solid and black on the head and neck and become larger rosette-shaped patterns along the side and back of the body. Sounds Lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars are the only cats that can roar. The sound is produced by a specialized larynx and flexible bone in its throat and can be used to stake territory, communicate generally or express anger. Habitat The jaguar prefers life in a dense rainforest but will also live across open terrains, deciduous forests, swamps, pampas grasslands and mountain scrub areas. Jaguars love the water and will bathe and swim, play and hunt to catch fish in pools or creeks. Once old enough to leave its mother (12 to 24 months), a jaguar tends to live a solitary life as an adult, comfortable mostly on its own.

Typical lifespan in the wild is estimated at around 12–15 years; in captivity, the jaguar lives up to 23 years, placing it among the longest-lived cats. Hunting & Prey With no predators, the jaguar exists at the top of the food chain in its habitat. The physical makeup of the jaguar is such that stalking and ambushing its prey is the preferred and more effective means of survival. The jaguar’s ambushing abilities are considered nearly peerless in the animal kingdom by both indigenous people and field researchers. It’s exceptionally powerful jaw structure gives the jaguar the strongest bite force of all of the big cats enabling it to penetrate armored reptile shells as well as the hardened skulls of other, larger animals. Unlike other cats, it can kill with a fatal bite between the ears, directly into the brain. The ambush may include leaping into water after prey, as a jaguar is quite capable of carrying a large kill while swimming; its strength is such that carcasses as large as a heifer can be hauled up a tree to avoid flood levels.

In the food chain, the jaguar plays a vital part in stabilizing ecosystems and keeping in check the populations of the animals within its range upon which this adept hunter depends for its survival. Jaguars are known to eat armadillos, birds, cattle, crocodiles, deer, eggs, fish, frogs, heifers, horses, mice and other rodents, monkeys, peccary, sloths, snakes, tapirs, turtles and anything else they can catch, up to 87 different species of animal and reptile food sources. Reportedly, while hunting horses, a jaguar may leap onto their back, place one paw on the muzzle and another on the nape and then twist, dislocating the neck. With smaller prey such as monkeys or wild dogs, a paw swipe to the skull may be sufficient to kill it. Conservation Issues Whereas the jaguar is near to being completely gone from the United States, it still exists in Mexico, Central and South America though is now extinct in El Salvador and Uruguay. Elsewhere, jaguar populations are rapidly declining.

The big cat is considered Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, meaning it may be threatened with extinction in the near future (see scale below). Loss and fragmentation of habitat is a major threat to the jaguar. International trade involving jaguars or their parts is illegal but the cat is still frequently killed by ranchers and farmers in South America attempting to prevent jaguars hunting their stock. And poaching hasn’t stopped, nor is it prohibited in every country. Read more about jaguar conservation and organizations to prevent jaguar extinction. Jaguar Videos Panthera onca (Jaguar) Panthera onca Tigre Real, Tigre Americano, Otorongo, Yaguar, Yaguarete Synonym(s): Felis onca Linnaeus, 1758 Taxonomic Notes: Although eight subspecies have been recognized (Seymour 1989), genetic (Eizirik et al. 2001, Ruiz-Garcia et al. 2006) and morphological (Larson 1997) analysis finds no support for the existence of discrete subspecies.

Rather, variation is clinal - the greatest differences are found between Jaguars at the latitudinal extremes of their range. While not elevating the regional differences to the subspecies level, Eizirk et al. (2001) found evidence for four incompletely isolated phylogeographic groups: Mexico + Guatemala, southern Central America, northern South America, and South America south of the Amazon river. Similarly, Ruiz-Garcia et al. (2006) found that the Andes mountains incompletely isolates Jaguar populations in Colombia. 2008-06-30 Assessor(s): Caso, A., Lopez-Gonzalez, C., Payan, E., Eizirik, E., de Oliveira, T., Leite-Pitman, R., Kelly, M. & Valderrama, C. Reviewer(s): Nowell, K., Breitenmoser-Wursten, C., Breitenmoser, U. (Cat Red List Authority) & Schipper, J.

(Global Mammal Assessment Team) Justification: Jaguar extent of occurrence was estimated at 8.75 million km², and probability of long-term survival was estimated as high for over 6 million km² (Sanderson et al., 2002). Much of the jaguar's remaining habitat is the rainforest of the Amazon basin, which is of relatively low suitability (Torres et al. 2007). The jaguar is still an abundant species, but is threatened by habitat loss and persecution. Due to loss of habitat, poaching of prey and fragmentation of populations across portions of the range, this species is considered to be Near Threatened. If threats continue at the current rate the species will likely qualify for VU A2cd or A3cd in the near future. Previously published Red List assessments: 2002 – Near Threatened (NT) Geographic Range [top] Range Description: The jaguar is the largest cat of the Americas, and the only living representative of the genus Panthera found in the New World (Nowell and Jackson 1996).

Historically it ranged from the southwestern US (where there are still some vagrants close to the Mexican border) through the Amazon basin to the Rio Negro in Argentina. Its extent of occurrence (EOO) is estimated at 8.75 million km², with its stronghold the rainforest of the Amazon basin, which comprises 88% of its EOO. However, ecological models indicate that much of the Amazon is of low suitability for the jaguar, compared with the Pantanal, Paraguayan Chaco, and Caatinga (Torres et al. 2007). The Jaguar has been virtually eliminated from much of the drier northern parts of its range, as well as northern Brazil, the pampas scrub grasslands of Argentina and throughout Uruguay. It is now estimated to occupy only about 46% of its historic range (Sanderson et al. 2002). Populations in Colombia are divided by the Andes (Ruiz-Garcia et al. 2006). Sanderson et al. (2002) presented a group exercise to define the most important areas for conservation of viable jaguar populations (Jaguar Conservation Units or JCUs).

These 51 areas add up to 1.29 million km², or 13% of jaguar range. Countries occurrence: Native: Argentina; Belize; Bolivia, Plurinational States of; Brazil; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; French Guiana; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Suriname; United States; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Regionally extinct: Population [top] Population: Sanderson et al. (2002) found that 70% of estimated jaguar range (over 6 million km²) was considered to have a high probability for survival. Most of this area consists of the Amazon basin rainforest, and adjoining areas of the Pantanal and Gran Chaco. However, while the latter two were found by ecological models to be highly suitable for jaguars, the Amazon was found to be of low suitability (Torres et al. 2007).

Jaguar densities in the Brazilian Pantanal are estimated at 6.6-6.7 adults per 100 km² (Soisalo and Cavalcanti 2006), and in the Bolivian Gran Chaco 2.2–5 per 100 km² (Maffei et al. 2004). In the Amazon basin in Colombia, jaguar density was estimated at 4.5/100 km² in Amacayacu National Park and 2.5/100 km² in unprotected areas (Payan 2008). In Madidi National Park in the Bolivian Amazon, density was estimated at 2.8/100 km² (Silver et al. 2004). Other high probability areas for long-term jaguar persistence include tropical moist lowland forest in Central America: the Selva Maya of Guatemla, Mexico and Belize; and a narrow strip of the Choco-Darien of Panama and Colombia to northern Honduras. Densities in the Belizean Selva Maya rainforest were estimated at 7.5-8.8/100 km² (Silver et al.

2004). The Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica and Panama also host a populations, but the long term persistence is uncertain (Gonzalez-Maya et al. 2007). Eighteen percent of jaguar range (1.6 million km²) was estimated to have medium probability of long-term survival. These areas are generally adjacent to high-probability areas and include a large portion of the northern Cerrado, most of the Venezuelan and Colombian llanos, and the northern part of Colombia on the Caribbean coast. In Central America and Mexico, medium-probability areas include the highlands of Costa Rica and Panama, southern Mexico, and the two eastern mountain ranges of Mexico, Sierra de Taumalipas and the Sierra Madre Oriental. The remainder of jaguar range was classified as low probability for jaguar survival, and of most urgent conservation concern. These areas include the Atlantic Tropical Forest and Cerrado of Brazil; parts of the Chaco in northern Argentina; the Gran Sabana of northern Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana; parts of the coastal dry forest in Venezuela; and the remainder of the range in Central America and Mexico.

Some of the most important areas for jaguar conservation (Jaguar Conservation Units) fell within parts of jaguar range where probability for long-term survival was considered low, and so represent the most endangered jaguar populations. These include the Atlantic Forests of Brazil, northern Argentina, central Honduras, and the Osa peninsula of Costa Rica (Sanderson et al. 2002). The Atlantic Forest subpopulation in Brazil has been estimated at 200+/- 80 adults (Leite et al. 2002). Jaguar populations in the Chaco region of northern Argentina and Brazil, and the Brazilian Caatinga, are low-density and highly threatened by livestock ranching and persecution (Altrichter et al. 2006, T. de Oliveira pers. comm. 2008). Current Population Trend: Habitat and Ecology [top] Habitat and Ecology: The species is strongly associated with the presence of water. Habitats range from rainforest to seasonally flooded swamp areas, pampas grassland, thorn scrub woodland, and dry deciduous forest (Nowell and Jackson 1996).

In Belize, jaguars are reportedly more abundant in lowland areas of relatively dense forest cover with permanent water sources than in open, seasonally dry forests. Although jaguars have been reported from elevations as high as 3,000 m (Brown and Lopez Gonzalez 2001), they typically avoid montane forest, and have not been found in the high plateau of central Mexico or above 2,700 m in the Andes. Jaguars take a wide variety of prey species but large-sized ungulates are preferred when available (Nowell and Jackson 1996). A 13 year old wild female was found with cub (Brown and Lopez-Gonzalez 2001). Density estimates ranged from 1.7-4 adults per 100 km² in studies in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Mexico summarized by Sunquist and Sunqujist (2002). Density estimates by Silver et al.

(2004) from five different study sites ranged from 2.4-8.8 adults per 100 km², with the highest densitiy found in Belize's Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Reserve (rainforest), a density similar to the 6-8 per 100 km² found by Rabinowitz and Nottingham (1986). That study found home ranges of females of 10 km², overlaped by male home ranges which varied from 28-40 km² and also overlapped extensively. In other areas jaguar home ranges have been over 1,000 km² (T. de Oliveira pers. comm. 2008). Soisalo and Cavalcanti (2006) used GPS-telemetry to check density estimates derived from a common camera trap methodology in the Brazilian Pantanal, and cautioned that the method may over-estimate population size.

Telemetry data indicated a density of 6.6-6.7 adult jaguars per 100 km², while densities derived from Maximum Distance Moved (MMDM) extrapolations from camera trap captures were higher at 10.3-11.7/100 km². Jaguar densities in the Paraguayan Gran Chaco are 2.27–5.37 per 100 km² (Cullen Jr. et al. in submission), and in the Colombian Amazon, 4.5/100 km² in Amacayacu National Park and 2.5/100 km² in unprotected areas (Payan 2008). In Brazil, densities are 2 per 100 km² in the savannas of the Cerrado, 3.5/100 km² in the semiarid scrub of the Caatinga, and 2.2/100 km² in the Atlantic Forest (Silveira 2004, in litt. To T. de Oliveira 2008).

Systems: Threats [top] Major Threat(s): Deforestation rates are high in Latin America and fragmentation of forest habitat isolates jaguar populations so that they are more vulnerable to human persecution (Nowell and Jackson 1996). People compete with jaguars for prey, and jaguars are frequently shot on sight, despite protective legislation (Nowell and Jackson 1996). An estimated 27% of jaguar range has a depleted wild prey base (WCS 2008). Jaguars are also known to kill cattle, and are killed by ranchers as pest species. The vulnerability of the jaguar to persecution is demonstrated by its disappearance by the mid-1900's from the south-western US. Commercial hunting and trapping of jaguars for their pelts has declined drastically since the mid-1970's, when anti-fur campaigns and CITES controls progressively shut down international markets (Nowell and Jackson 1996). However, although hunting has decreased there is still demand for jaguar paws, teeth and other products. Conservation Actions [top] Conservation Actions: Included on CITES Appendix I.

The jaguar is fully protected at the national level across most of its range, with hunting prohibited in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, United States, and Venezuela, and hunting restrictions in place in Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru (Nowell and Jackson 1996). With habitat fragmentation a major threat, and taxonomic research suggesting little significant differences among jaguar populations, an ambitious program has been launched to conserve a continuous north to south habitat corridor through the species range (Rabinowitz 2007). Addressing livestock management and problem animal issues is a high priority for conservation effort in many jaguar range countries. Citation: Caso, A., Lopez-Gonzalez, C., Payan, E., Eizirik, E., de Oliveira, T., Leite-Pitman, R., Kelly, M. & Valderrama, C. 2008. Panthera onca. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T15953A5327466. . Downloaded on 20 January 2017.

Disclaimer: Black Panther - Big Cat Facts Big Cat facts The rosettes can be barely seen Von B-F-G ; used with permission The term black panther refers to both leopards (panthera pardus) and jaguars (panthera onca) with black fur color, but actually the word comes from the Latin and means leopard. However, in the course of time the term black panther has caught on for both big cat species. This can definitely lead to misunderstandings also because some people only know the black panther as leopard, some others only as jaguar. The black leopard's and black jaguar's fur color varies from dark brown to black whereas the common leopards and jaguars are yellowish and white. If the exposure to light is opportune, the rosettes can still be spotted. A certain kind of melanism is responsible for the unusual dark coloration, therefore, the black panthers are not a species itself but a special kind of leopards respectively jaguars.

Black Leopard The rosettes are still visible if the light incidence is opportune A black leopard is characterized by its untypical black fur color which is caused by a recessively inherited gene, thus, the gene can also be present in normally colored leopards but loses its effectivity due to the dominant gene which is responsible for the yellowish coloration. Moreover, the recessive gene can be inherited so that in one litter there can be cubs with normal and with dark coloration. If the light incidence is diagonal, the rosettes can be spotted quite easily despite the black fur. That's because the fur color is not quite black but rather dark brown. A black leopard is also known as melanic leopard. Black Jaguar Black Jaguar A black jaguar (also melanic jaguar) is just as the black leopard characterized by its unusual dark fur color. Normally, the jaguar's fur is yellowish or orange-hued and has black rosettes on it. In the middle of those rosettes, there is another dark point. Like the black leopard's also the black jaguar's rosettes can be spotted if the light incidence is opportune.

In contrast to the black leopard, the black jaguar's coloration is caused by an inherited dominant gene. Reasons of Dark Coloration As mentioned before, the black color is caused by particular genes. They increase the production of melanin which is relayed to the hair by melanocytes (pigment cells). We differentiate between eumelanin which turns the hair dark brown or black and phaeomelanin which provokes a yellowish respectively orange-hued fur color. This special kind of dark coloration is called melanism. Black Leopard by Martin Heigan (flickr) Black Jaguar by redbeard31 (flickr, deviantArt) Letzte Bearbeitung: 19:17, 01 Jul 2011 - Geo Online ( based on the last 5 minutes ) : 0 Users online

Question: Which of the 'big cats' has the Latin name `Panthera Onca'?
Answer: THE JAGUAR